Our penultimate Christmas Gift Guide is for Health & Wellbeing. Lockdown taught us all about looking after our physical and mental health, and for some this has become a new way of life. Here’s an eclectic array of gift ideas focused on health and wellbeing, to provide you with some shopping inspiration x
#AD Disclaimer: Some of these products have been gifted to us for inclusion in this gift guide.
Drinkmate OmniFizz
The Drinkmate OmniFizz (£89.99) is the most fabulous drink maker. You can use pretty much any flavour to make a fizzy drink. You can use cordials from supermarkets, but from a health perspective you can make healthy juices using fresh ingredients such as ginger, apple, orange or cranberry. Our children love it as they can use their creative streak to produce the newest and greatest drinks. Fizzy blueberry with watermelon is their current favourite (closely followed by fizzy apple and mango). I have been loving fruit teas lately, and I can tell you that a cooled fruit tea fizzed up in the OmniFizz is amazing! I love the freedom and creativity the machine gives us. We can make glasses of fizzy drinks that contain filtered water and sweetened by natural ingredients. The potential is endless.
Bach Rescue Remedy
Bach Rescue remedies are world-renowned for their special essences of plant extracts with medicinal and calming effects. Their new Fresh and Focus Capsules (£14.99) contain plant-based botanical Ginkgo Biloba, Vegan Omega 3 DHA and is formulated to help improve mental clarity and focus. This specific formulation contains B Vitamins plus RESCUE flower essences to help sharpen your mind and concentration.
Bach Rock Water (£8.99) is an elixir to provide support to people who thrive on hard work and want to be always at their best. Just take before you go to the gym or to give you a mid-afternoon boost at the height of the working day.
Bach Gorse (£8.99) is a natural flower remedy designed to help people who are feeling low with negative feelings. Gorse is a natural aid, providing relief when you are down.
Yonex Badminton Set from Badminton HQ
I love playing badminton. It is such fun, and brilliant exercise. However it’s often a bit of a faff to book courts. Whenever we want to play they are usually booked up in advance. This Yonex GR303 Badminton Set (£39.95) contains 4 top quality rackets, 2 shuttlecocks, a net and poles to sink into the ground. There’s even tape so you can mark out a court. The kit takes up very little space. You should store it near your picnic blankets and hampers, ready to load into your car next time you head to the beach or for a countryside picnic. A great set to enable some serious competitive fun with family and friends.
Waatr LYT Self-Cleaning Water Purifier, 740ml
This Waatr LYT Self-Cleaning Water Purifier (£59.99) is the perfect bottle to accompany any hiking trips, especially if there’s a risk of being caught without a clean source of water. The special top of this 740ml Waatr bottle uses a UV light source to keep your water free of harmful bacteria such as E. coli. Every hour the UV light activates to kill any bacteria and purify your water.
Up, Up And Away by John Brackenbury
Lockdown (and a breast cancer diagnosis during it) forced me to slow down. By doing so I took more interest in the immediate world around me – mainly my garden. I studied the plants, fed the birds and did all I could to attract more while spending at much time outside as I could. My appreciation for nature reached a new high and this helped boost my mental state and positivity. Up, Up And Away (£23.20) by John Brackenbury, is a book of photographs that captures an ‘insect-eye view’ of the world of flying insects. But rather than anatomical close-ups, he includes the landscape that the creatures live in too – demonstrating the importance of habitat conservation to preserve natural diversity. The images are awe inspiring. They show that these often simple insects are in fact a beautiful work of art. You just need to take a moment to look at them.
BetterYou Magnesium Bundle
Magnesium is a go-to treatment for aching and tired muscles. My son is a prop for a local rugby team, and after every hard-fought game, he has a long soak in the bath with magnesium flakes. It helps him recover. During the menopause (or chemical menopause in my case) life can be thwarted with aching joints, tight muscles, and muscle cramps. Magnesium oil spray has been my health saviour.
The Magnesium Bundle from BetterYou (£26.95) provides a trio of transdermal magnesium products to help soothe your aching muscles. It also aids tiredness and fatigue. This set includes 1kg of Magnesium Flakes for use in the bath. You can even add some to a footbath as a first response to aching muscles following activity. Then there is a Magnesium Body Lotion to soften skin and relax muscles, and a Magnesium Spray to use locally on sore or cramping areas to improve the electrolyte balance.
Goat Yoga
Yoga is the ultimate health and wellbeing activity. Goat Yoga is a thing too … really! You attend a yoga class, and during it you are joined by real living goats! So it was only a matter of time until this became an interesting party game 😊. Goat Yoga (£17.99) involves an inflatable goat and many, many challenges to score points. You may be asked to do a yoga pose, bleat a little tune, punch the goat (poor goat), toss the goat in the air or balance it on your head … The challenges are endless! Keep tabs on the winners of each round of challenges with the included scorepad and pencil. Whoever completes the most challenges in the most original way wins.
Earth’s Secrets Ultimate
Earth’s Secrets Ultimate (£99.99) are mixtures of herbs that can help boost your health to achieve Calm, Thrive and Sleep. Each one contains a unique blend of herbs formulated to provide calmness, stimulation or to help you attain a restful sleep. The Calm capsules contain ashwagandha and four other ayurveda herbs, and natural nootropics for a rejuvenating tonic for both mind and body. Thrive capsules contain the turmeric extract Hydrocurc®, along with four other energy-inducing herbs that support the immune system and reduce inflammation. The Sleep capsules contain saffron extract with four other powerful blends of sleep-inducing botanicals that relax your muscles and quieten the mind.
TeaPro Tea Subscription Box
Are you looking for a gift that keeps on giving long after the Christmas tree has been taken down? For any tea loving friend, what about a tea subscription box? This TeaPro Subscription Box (£18.00/month) is way more than just a monthly delivery of intriguing teas to try. It is an educational journey. The Black & Yellow box is for the month of December. In addition, every subscriber will receive their best-selling infuser glass in their first box as a gift (usually it’s £16.99). PackThePJs has arranged a 10% discount code for new customers – quote packthepjs10 during checkout. This educational tea journey has been created to help tea lovers master a new tea type each month, as well as learn about each tea’s benefits, history and processing.
AMONAX Yoga Mat & Resistance Bands
Maybe a few games of Goat Yoga have encouraged you to join a class? Goat (or no goat) yoga will require you to take along a mat. This AMONAX yoga mat (£21.99) is high-quality non-slip and thick to provide both comfort and longevity. It is great for beginners and is available in a range of attractive colours (purple, pink and black).
For exercising at home, these AMONAX Resistance Bands (£9.99) provide a range of exercises that require little space, so can be done anywhere. What I like most about this set is that exercises for each strength of band are printed on the actual bands. So you can make your own workout from being guided by the printed poses. Whether you are an exercise pro, or are rehabilitating after illness, resistance bands are a great way to work out without spending a lot on kit or memberships.
Lotil Moisturising Creams
Dry skin is the curse of most people at least once in their life. Patches on skin, hard skin on feet … Apart from facial skin and perhaps hands, it is often just overlooked and generally unloved. Until you notice the dryness, and then it is time to act. My feet are the worst to keep moisturised. That was before I discovered Lotil moisturing creams. Available for over 100 years, the natural cream has antibacterial and antiseptic properties while being relatively scent-less. It gently rehydrates the skin with no mess. Regular use gives protection against environmental and climatic conditions. The cream is available various sizes – 114ml tub (£6.61), as a lip balm (£1.99), a 30ml travel tube (£2.39) and a larger 50ml tube (£3.60) for everyday use. There is also a 114ml foot cream tub (£5.92).
